Marcia Lieberman: R.I. Amnesty group says no to decriminalizing 'johns'

Wednesday

Dec 14, 2016 at 5:27 PMDec 14, 2016 at 5:27 PM

I wish to make clear our position on the issue of prostitution and the sex trade ("R.I. Amnesty branch tackles prostitution issue," news, Dec. 12). AIUSA, the American section of Amnesty International, joined our international organization in 2015 in adopting a new policy. Amnesty’s new policy calls for the decriminalization of all participants in the sex trade, including prostitutes, but also sex buyers, which includes pimps and brothel keepers. Group 49, the Providence chapter of AIUSA, does not support this decision.

We agree with the approach of the Providence Police, explained at a Dec. 11 Group 49 gathering by Detective Commander Michael E. Correia. The police now treat prostitutes, often girls or young women from broken families or other social dysfunction, as victims rather than perpetrators of crime. The sex trade is driven by demand from customers. Captain Correia said that in place of the euphemism “johns,” he prefers the term “sex buyers.”

Group 49 takes the position that sex buyers should not be decriminalized. Amnesty International opposes trafficking, but fails to recognize that full decriminalization of the sex trade, as Amnesty International calls for, inevitably leads to increased trafficking. In countries that have adopted full decriminalization, trafficking has vastly increased.